Wesley Ngetich Kimutai (December 15, 1977 – January 21, 2008) was a Kenyan marathon runner. He was born in 1977 in Kiribwet, Kirindoni division, Trans Mara District. He went to Olpopongi Primary School, but did not go to high school, since his parents could not afford to pay his school fees. He did not compete outside of Kenya until 2003. He finished 5th at the 2004

Nairobi Marathon The Nairobi Marathon is an annual road running competition over the marathon distance usually held in October in Nairobi, Kenya. First held in 2003, the competition expanded and now includes a half marathon race along with the main race. It was ...

, timing 2:15:15 hours. Al Franken and Wesley Ngetich Kimutai in the 2007 Grandma's Marathon

He won the

Grandma's Marathon Grandma's Marathon is an annual road race held each June in Duluth, Minnesota, in the United States. The course runs point-to-point from the city of Two Harbors on Scenic Route 61 and continues along Lake Superior into the city of Duluth. The ...

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

, in 2005 and 2007. Ngetich set his personal best of 2:12:10 hours when he finished second at the

Houston Marathon The Houston Marathon is an annual marathon usually held every January in Houston, Texas, United States, since 1972. With thousands of runners and spectators, it is the largest single day sporting event in the city. It is run concurrently wi ...

in 2006. Post-election violence in his home country forced him and 13 other runners to drop out of the January 2008

Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon The Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon is a marathon held annually in Arizona on the Sunday before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day that links three cities of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area: Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Tempe. The marathon race can be us ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

. Ngetich died after he was shot with a

poisoned arrow Arrow poisons are used to poison arrow heads or darts for the purposes of hunting and warfare. They have been used by indigenous peoples worldwide and are still in use in areas of South America, Africa and Asia. Notable examples are the poisons se ...

on January 21, 2008, in Emarti, Trans Mara District, becoming the second international athlete to lose his life, after Lucas Sang, due to political clashes.Ngetich is survived by two wives and three children. He was buried in his home village of Kiribwet.

Achievements

*All results are from marathons, unless stated otherwise

References

External links

* 1977 births 2008 deaths Kenyan male long-distance runners Kenyan male marathon runners Kenyan murder victims People murdered in Kenya {{Kenya-athletics-bio-stub